Blackstone May Be Interested In Dell After All

Dell Inc. (DELL) may have another interested party – even though that party has already said it was never interested in acquiring Dell. Anonymous sources have apparently told Bloomberg that The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) is interested in submitting a rival bid for the struggling PC maker. This news comes about two months after Blackstone Group CEO Steve Schwarzman told Bloomberg that they didn’t look at Dell.

“We did not look at that company,” Schwarzman said back in January. “Part of that is in the PC business where it is a tough road.”

Now we fast-forward to March, when The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) is said to be part of a group of investors considering making a rival offer. Founder Michael Dell made a controversial offer earlier this year to buy the company for $24.4 billion and take it private.

The source has said that the investors in the group have not made a decision. The go-shop period required by the offer from Michael Dell and the private-equity firm Silver Lake ends on Friday, so if Blackstone does decide to make an offer, it will have to be this week.

The source also told Bloomberg that Blackstone and also Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ) and Lenovo Group Ltd. (PINK:LNVGY) (HKG:0992) have looked over Dell’s books and signed non-disclosure agreements. However the source also said that Blackstone’s interest is “more serious” than Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ)’s or Lenovo Group Ltd. (PINK:LNVGY) (HKG:0992)’s interest.

A rival bid from The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE:BX) or anyone else for that matter, would put pressure on Michael Dell and Silver Lake. Their buyout bid values the company at $13.65 per share and has drawn the ire of current shareholders.

Southeastern Asset Management, one of the PC maker’s largest shareholders currently, has demanded that Dell turn over its stockholder list and other books and records. Carl Icahn also waded into the fray this month, and investors voted with their cash by raising the price of Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL)’s stock above the $13.65 per share price offered by Michael Dell.

Bloomberg predicts that bids for Dell could go as high as $15 per share.

Shares of Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) are up more than 1 percent in pre-market trading on Tuesday.